Cup Noodles with Tofu Pad!

This has been in my cabinet at work for a while now. Time to eat! It's fairly autumnal outside today and this will hit the spot. Didn't bring any lunch today as I could not get to the grocery store yesterday. Here in Montgomery County, Maryland, the archaic computer system that governs the timing of the street lights failed. Apparently, the system is so old they're having trouble finding parts (?) to repair it. Eventually it took them two whole days to fix. In the meantime, commutes that normally took 20 minutes (mine) took over an hour. And that was taking back roads, etc. It was gridlock as far as the eye could see. I couldn't bare to look at people in the cars beside me. They all had that same anxious, frustrated look that I knew was on my face as well. Anyway, back to the soup.

First, time to boil some water. Four minutes in the microwave and we're all set. The first time I boiled water in a ceramic mug I, rather stupidly, assumed that the handle would still be cool. It was, in reality, hotter than a thousand suns and almost fused to my hand the instant I touched it.




Below you can see the raw noodles and the tofu pad. I mentioned in a previous post that these noodles are fried before they're dried and packaged. That's where they get a lot of their flavor AND a lot of their calories. Almost 500 for this bowl......

Here it is with the flavor packet added. I have no idea what the hell those little Corn Puff-looking thingies are supposed to be. They're spongy once they cook and have no flavor. Japanese whimsy?

Now we set the timer on the explosives and wait..... In the background, my trusty Dell Mini is loading up an episode of Naruto for some lunch time diversion.




Ta da! The tofu pad is kind of savory with a hint of sweetness and a very pleasant chewy texture. The broth was great. If I had been thinking, I should have brought some left over pork loin that I had, along with some green onions and Sriracha. That would've have really taken this to another level. The Naruto episode is where they're in the Forest of Death during the Chunin exams. The fights were brutal. I was so hoping Neji was gonna beat up the three bad ninja from the Sound Village when Sasuke woke up from his curse mark coma, irradiating blue chakra mist, and pulled their arms off. I know that meant nothing to you.